The mind wanderings of a retired London Underground Engineer enjoying life above ground.

Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Skylark

Morning walk gave me the Skylark singing his little heart out high above the airfield after a shower had refreshed everything.I do hope they return to nest in "our" field next year. They were there in late winter / early spring but I think the building work on the new factory (replaces the dairy) drove them away.Barny "no showed" last night.Moorhen parents were going mad attacking the heron this morning. He left when I arrived but I only saw one chick. I hope the others were just hiding. They can dive instantly and "fly" under water so that they come up long distances away. The adults can instantly expel all air from their feathers and then they can stand under water with just the tip of their beak above the surface for air supply. Once it really freaked Vicky out when she saw this bird staring at her from the bottom of the pond!There are baby (1inch long) fish in the bottom wild life pond. They should not be there as this pond is the reservoir and reed bed filter for the system and the level varies a great deal as water is pumped up to the top. I need a jam jar and a small net and some children to assist in removing them to a safer home........Dog recovered last afternoon and ate a little food but he is poorly again this morning and appears to have lost all he ate.